The Riddle of Southern Shaolin
Contributed by Chris Toepker - (Translated from Shaolin Fang Gu, by Wen Yu Chen ISBN:7-5306-2830-5)

Section II

On July 9, 1992 the "Fujian Daily? ran a Zhong Xin wire story entitled "Important discovery about Southern Shaolin Temple found in Fujian's Quan Zhou.? The article said, "Quan Zhou historical scholars had recently discovered a Qing dynasty record book entitled ¯Records of the Western Mountain.' Within this record the location of the Southern Shaolin Temple was revealed as being just north of Quan Zhou in the Qing Yuan mountains.? The story also reported, "Well-known Quan Zhou historian Chen Si Dong introduced the find to this reporter saying that the recently reopened "Eastern Zen Shaolin Temple is built on the remains of the Southern Shaolin Temple mentioned in the ¯Records.' The ¯Records' were written during the Qing dynasty's Jia He and Dao Guang emperor's reigns. Furthermore, the book shows that during the Tang Dynasty's Zhen Yuan emperor's reign, Quan Zhou's scholar Xu Ji's "Records of Central Min? (Min = present day Fujian, Taiwan and northern Guangdong) have references to ¯Qing Yuan Shaolin Temple.'?

Mr. Chen Si Dong later had 13 articles in the Quan Zhou Evening News covering "Southern Shaolin Temple at Quan Zhou.? His resources included the Song Dynasty work "Jiading WenLing Records? edited by Minister Cheng Zhuo, a Ming Dynasty copy of the "History of the Qing Yuan area?, an 1810 copy of the Records of the Western Mountain, the 1927 "Martial Lineage of the Fu,? and the 1941 "Shaolin Martial Arts Reference? by Tang Hao.

Here are the main points Mr. Chen covers. First, all the materials, old to new, record the location of the Southern Shaolin Temple as Quan Zhou's eastern area, in the Qing Yuan mountain's eastern peak. The Records of the Western Mountain, say "The wisdom of the ¯13 Empties' entered Min, built the Shaolin Temple on Qing Yuan Mountain, and settled there. Min's martial monks all begin from this place.? "The Shaolin Temple began with 13, and a high wall. The temple's monks number in the thousands, with hundreds of acres and fragrant forests.? Because Quanzhou Shaolin opposed the Min ruler, Wang Shen Zhi, the temple was razed for the first time. In the Song dynasty because "thousands of monks opposed the Mongols,? the temple was razed for a second time. Then in 1763, the Qing emperor issued orders to raze it again, and it wasn't rebuilt. Nevertheless, from Mr. Chen's articles, it is clear that his most relied upon resource is the Record of the Western Mountain.

Current understanding is that the 'Record' was originally 12 volumes, but more than half were lost in times of war. Still, descendants of Cai Chun Cao saved six volumes. Then, during the cultural revolution, two more volumes were lost. In 1990, Hua Qiao University's Lin Shao Zhou, while doing research in Jinjiang made several important discoveries, but which are currently unpublished. The Record that Mr. Chen relies on is an essay of about 1800 characters and has been found to be full of mistakes. Therefore, it can only be taken as fictional.

For example, the 'Record' reports that the abbot of Shaolin during the end of the Sui dynasty was "Qi Xuan.? However, Shaolin's records report no such person. The ¯Record' also reports that the "13 Staff Monks? were named "First Empty, Half Empty, Non Empty, Emptiness of Color, Zen Empty, Understanding Empty, Enlightened Empty, Empty Wisdom, Quiet Empty, Really Empty, Truly Empty, Empty Law and Empty Rule. However, this is impossible. In the Sui and Tang times, there are no examples of this sort of naming convention for groups of monks. The Record also says that of the thirteen monks, seven died among the soldiers of king Zheng. However, there is no record of this elsewhere. There is neither supporting evidence for the statement that "The wisdom of the thirteen empties entered Min? from here (i.e. Chan evangelism in the region started here.) In any case, the articles in the ¯Record' concerning Shaolin in the Ming and Qing dynasties are more numerous. Perhaps they are records of local stories, but it is difficult to call it history (given their content). In conclusion, the ¯Records of the Western Mountain' is simply full of error. It cannot be trusted to as evidence of Quanzhou being the location of the Southern Shaolin temple.

Next Page - Section III